Florida-Ole Miss storylines

Published: Saturday, February 2, 2013 at 8:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 1, 2013 at 8:51 p.m.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

Battle on the boards

Ole Miss is a physical team up front, led by senior forward Murphy Holloway, the SEC's leading rebounder at 10.3 per game. Florida will need to box out the 240-pound Holloway and 235-pound Reginald Buckner throughout the game. Limiting teams to one shot has fueled UF's fast-break offense this season. Patric Young will do most of the banging inside for the Gators. Will Yeguete will help off the bench and the return of injured forward Casey Prather also should help on the boards.

Taking care of the ball

Ole Miss forces 16.7 turnovers per game and 8.9 steals per game. Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario and Scottie Wilbekin are going to need to be strong with the ball throughout the game and avoid turnovers.

Free-throw shooting

Neither Florida (.697) nor Ole Miss (.673) shoot well from the free-throw line. But in a physical game in which fouls are bound to be called around the basket, free-throw shooting could make the difference. The Gators are coming off a 7-for-16 night from the foul line. Florida coach Billy Donovan said Patric Young and Will Yeguete are putting extra work in following practice to get their free-throw woes figured out. Young went 2-of-7 from the line against South Carolina and is shooting just 50 percent (37-of-74) from the free-throw line this season.

KEY MATCHUP

Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin vs. Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson: Henderson, the SEC's leading scorer at 19.3 points per game, is slippery around screens and has a quick release on his shot. He'll be another tough guard for Wilbekin, who has managed to shut down top scorers throughout the season. Expect Wilbekin to get plenty of help from his teammates, including Kenny Boynton and even Patric Young on screen-and-roll situations.

<p><b>3 THINGS TO WATCH</b></p><p><b>Battle on the boards</b></p><p>Ole Miss is a physical team up front, led by senior forward Murphy Holloway, the SEC's leading rebounder at 10.3 per game. Florida will need to box out the 240-pound Holloway and 235-pound Reginald Buckner throughout the game. Limiting teams to one shot has fueled UF's fast-break offense this season. Patric Young will do most of the banging inside for the Gators. Will Yeguete will help off the bench and the return of injured forward Casey Prather also should help on the boards.</p><hr/>
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<hr /><p><b>Taking care of the ball</b></p><p>Ole Miss forces 16.7 turnovers per game and 8.9 steals per game. Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario and Scottie Wilbekin are going to need to be strong with the ball throughout the game and avoid turnovers.</p><p><b>Free-throw shooting</b></p><p>Neither Florida (.697) nor Ole Miss (.673) shoot well from the free-throw line. But in a physical game in which fouls are bound to be called around the basket, free-throw shooting could make the difference. The Gators are coming off a 7-for-16 night from the foul line. Florida coach Billy Donovan said Patric Young and Will Yeguete are putting extra work in following practice to get their free-throw woes figured out. Young went 2-of-7 from the line against South Carolina and is shooting just 50 percent (37-of-74) from the free-throw line this season.</p><p><b>KEY MATCHUP</b></p><p>Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin vs. Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson: Henderson, the SEC's leading scorer at 19.3 points per game, is slippery around screens and has a quick release on his shot. He'll be another tough guard for Wilbekin, who has managed to shut down top scorers throughout the season. Expect Wilbekin to get plenty of help from his teammates, including Kenny Boynton and even Patric Young on screen-and-roll situations.</p>